The present invention relates to a hose clip and particularly to a hose clip that can be used suitably for connecting inner pipes or the like of an automobile by using a hose.
Conventionally, in connecting metal pipes by using a plastic hose, respective end portions of the hose are fitted over outer peripheries of the metal pipes and then outer peripheries of the end portions of the hose fitted over the outer peripheries of the metal pipes are respectively fastened by using hose clips to fix the hose to both the metal pipes.
Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-open publication No. 5-34386 discloses a hose clip as shown in FIG. 13.
In FIG. 13, the hose clip HC has a leaf spring main body 1 having resiliency and curved into an annular shape.
At an end portion of the leaf spring main body 1, a slot hole 2 and a first lug chip 3 projecting outward on a tip end side from the slot hole are formed. On the other hand, at the other end portion of the leaf spring main body 1, an inserted chip 4 inserted into the slot hole 2 and a second lug chip 5 projecting outward at a tip end portion of the inserted chip 4 are formed.
The inserted chip 4 on the other end portion of the leaf spring main body 1 is formed with a locking chip 6 and a receiving chip 7 with which the locking chip 6 can engage is formed at a lower portion of the first lug chip 3 at the one end portion of the leaf spring main body 1. A tool insertion window 8 through which a tool is inserted is formed outside of the receiving chip 7.
This hose clip HC is brought into a temporarily locked state when the first lug chip 3 and the second lug chip 5 are pinched and opened by using a pair of pliers or the like and the locking pawl 6 engages with the receiving chip 7. In this state, the clip is positioned at the outer periphery of the hose (not shown) and the tool is inserted from the tool insertion window 8 to apply leverage, thereby moving the first lug chip 3 radially outward and the second lug chip 5 radially inward with respect to each other. As a result, engagement of the locking chip 6 and the receiving chip 7 with each other is cancelled to reduce a diameter of the leaf spring main body 1 by resilient force of the main body 1.
However, in the above hose clip HC, when the engaged state of the locking chip 6 and the receiving chip 7 in the temporarily locked state is cancelled, the diameter of the leaf spring main body 1 is reduced instantaneously to fasten the hose. Therefore, in some cases, the hose clip HC moves violently such that positions of the hose clip HC and the hose relative to each other are displaced from those set in advance and that an expected mounted state may not be achieved.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a hose clip for arbitrarily controlling a diameter-reducing step by maintaining a tool in contact with the hose clip in the diameter-reducing step when the temporarily locked state is cancelled.
According to the invention, there is provided a hose clip comprising a leaf spring main body formed by curving a resilient member into an annular shape, a slot hole provided to one end portion of the leaf spring main body, a first lug portion provided to the one end portion of the leaf spring main body on a tip end side from the slot hole and projecting outward as to the leaf spring main body, an inserted chip provided to the other end portion of the leaf spring main body to be inserted into the slot hole, a projecting portion provided to the inserted chip and projecting outward as to the leaf spring main body, an engaged portion provided to the one end portion of the leaf spring main body on a tip end side from the slot hole to be engaged with the projecting portion, a second lug portion provided to the inserted chip on a tip end side from the projecting portion and projecting outward as to the leaf spring main body, a sloped face provided between the projecting portion and the second lug portion on the inserted chip and projecting outward to a larger degree from the leaf spring main body as the sloped face approaches the second lug portion, and a sliding portion provided to the one end portion of the leaf spring main body on a tip end side from the slot hole for sliding on the sloped face. Here, a temporarily locked state in which the projecting portion engages with the engaged portion is obtained when a gap between the first lug chip and the second lug chip is reduced to open the leaf spring main body until the sliding portion climbs over the projecting portion and the sliding portion slides on the sloped face when the gap between the first lug chip and the second lug chip is further reduced after the temporarily locked state.